+
upworthy
More

An LGBTQ rights group and trans kids fact check a Trump campaign promise.

Lately, friends are hard to come by.

"Ask yourself who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community, Donald Trump with actions or Hillary Clinton with her words?" said Donald Trump during a June 13, 2016 speech.

The speech, which was recorded the morning after the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, features then presidential candidate Trump slamming his opponent over her support for Muslims and refugees, suggesting that he would be a true friend to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

Six months into Trump's presidency, the Human Rights Campaign revisited that promise to see if he is the friend to the LGBTQ he said he would be.


In a new video from HRC, trans kids share what it means to be a friend.

[rebelmouse-image 19528005 dam="1" original_size="500x281" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

[rebelmouse-image 19528006 dam="1" original_size="500x252" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

[rebelmouse-image 19528007 dam="1" original_size="500x253" caption="GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from Human Rights Campaign/YouTube.

The running theme through the kids' responses is simple: They just want to be accepted, protected, loved, and allowed to live happy lives free from bullying.

That all seems pretty reasonable and really shouldn't be so much to ask.

By these standards and "with his actions," President Trump is not a friend to the LGBTQ community.

On February 22, Trump's Department of Justice and Department of Education rescinded a May 2016 letter of guidance instructing school districts around the country to protect trans kids from discrimination in schools. It was a major WTF moment for anyone who thought the administration would make good on its pro-LGBT promises; and for those who had their doubts, it was a confirmation of their worst fears.

That 2016 letter was the kind of thing Joe Biden might call a "big effing deal," making it clear that trans students have a right not to be bullied or discriminated against. In other words, it was a sign they had friends in the White House. Now? Not so much.

"From rescinding lifesaving guidance protecting transgender students to appointing anti-transgender officials and judges, Donald Trump has proven time and time again that he is no friend to our community. Quite the opposite," says Sarah McBride, HRC national press secretary.

The good news is that anti-LGBTQ attitudes in the White House aren't enough to undo all of the progress we've made.

Trump's administration has been pretty hostile to LGBTQ people, in general, but that's no reason to give up hope.

McBride dismisses Trump's offer of friendship as yet another one of his administration's "alternative facts," but she points to one victorious bright spot from 2016: North Carolina. The state, which earlier in the year had enacted one of the nation's most oppressively anti-LGBTQ laws, rejected its governor's reelection bid in favor of a challenger who ran on repealing it.

"We saw that when trans voices are heard and our allies stand up, we can still make the politics of discrimination and misinformation no longer effective," she says. "That power to effect transformation change remains."

[rebelmouse-image 19528008 dam="1" original_size="499x271" caption="McBride made history as the first transgender woman to address a major political party's convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and has been a tireless advocate for equality. GIF from PBS Newshour/YouTube." expand=1]McBride made history as the first transgender woman to address a major political party's convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and has been a tireless advocate for equality. GIF from PBS Newshour/YouTube.

Allies are an essential component of the path forward for the rights of trans kids, and there are some specific things we can all do to help out, such as speaking out if we see kids being bullied by teachers, classmates, or even the government. Additionally, we can support organizations like HRC in their fight for full equality and call our elected officials to ask them to reject efforts to discriminate.

"The momentum is on our side," adds McBride. "History is on our side."

Watch the Human Rights Campaign's video here:

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Woman bakes cheeky curse word pies for her grandma and it becomes a quirky holiday tradition

2023's pie is an homage to her favorite word to use while stuck in traffic.

Canva

You never know where a holiday tradition will come from.

Tried-and-true holiday traditions certainly have their merit, but there’s something quite special, magical even, about discovering personal rituals that commemorate one’s unique life. In my household, for instance, nothing quite rings in the Christmas spirit like sipping my partner’s delicious coquito and putting up a cardboard gingerbread house for my cats.

The beauty of creating customized holiday traditions is that they can be as festive, sentimental, or as silly as you want them to be. And you never know how one small moment can become the catalyst for a tradition that sparks joy year after year.

For Jess Lydon, that tradition is baking expletive-laden pies for Thanksgiving. (This is your profanity warning—the images below contain swear words.)

Keep ReadingShow less
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

Keep ReadingShow less

Peter Bence's piano cover of "Africa" by Toto

Peter Bence’s performance of “Africa” by Toto has over 17 million views on YouTube because of his creative reimagining of the song and, well, just about everyone loves “Africa.”

Bence is a Hungarian composer and producer who has become a viral sensation for his Michael Jackson, Queen, Sia, and Beatles covers. He has over 1.1 million followers on YouTube and has toured the globe, playing in more than 40 countries across four continents.

His performance of “Africa'' is unique because it opens with him creating a rhythm track and looping it by strategically tapping the piano and rubbing its strings to create the sound of shakers and congo drums.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Family posts a very chill note to neighbors explaining why their dog is on the roof

“We appreciate your concern but please do not knock on our door.."

via Reddit

Meet Huckleberry the dog.

If you were taking a stroll through a quiet neighborhood and happened to catch a glance of this majestic sight, you might bat an eye. You might do a double take. If you were (somewhat understandably) concerned about this surprising roof-dog's welfare, you might even approach the homeowners to tell them, "Uh, I'm not sure if you know...but there's a...dog...on your ROOF."

Well, the family inside is aware that there's often a dog on their roof. It's their pet Golden, Huckleberry, and he just sorta likes it up there.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

12 hilariously relatable comics about life as a new mom.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

All illustrations by Ingebritt ter Veld. Reprinted here with permission.

Some good not so good moments with babies.



Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone's bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

Illustrator Ingebritt ter Veld and Corinne de Vries, who works for Hippe-Birth Cards, a webshop for birth announcements, had babies shortly after one another.

Keep ReadingShow less